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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29842701">eren jaeger character analysis.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/v4mp1r3s/pseuds/v4mp1r3s'>v4mp1r3s</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Eren Yeager - Freeform, Essay, Gen, Other, literally just my boring essay aha</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 22:33:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,458</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29842701</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/v4mp1r3s/pseuds/v4mp1r3s</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>i like writing essays so here's one on eren bc he's vv interesting and i have nowhere else to put this.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>eren jaeger character analysis.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eren is undoubtedly one of the most complex characters introduced to the anime world; beginning the series as the short-tempered yet fiercely determined protagonist, his descent into the status of villain, anti-hero, antagonist, victim and instigator all at once makes him even more disturbingly intriguing for the audience.</p><p>Initially, Eren is presented as a hard-headed and strong-willed young boy. His absolute goal is to join the Survey Corps and destroy all the titans in the hopes of saving humanity. However, he is a somewhat reserved person, only ever being accompanied by his two friends, Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert. His initial goal becomes far more personal when his town, and mother, is taken away from him because of the titans. Eren immediately feels intense guilt and regret due this, channelling all his pain into his dreams of becoming a member of the Survey Corps. We see Eren vigorously try to prove himself to those around him even when he is taunted by his peers. His defining quality becomes his determination. Combined with his unfaltering saviour complex, Eren is already presented as dangerous: he’s impulsive, angry and emotional, later on earning the nickname ‘Suicidal Maniac’ by his comrade Jean Kirstein.</p><p>Eren is naturally perceived as a “good guy” from the get-go; a typical protagonist who tragically loses the ones he loves and has a life mission that is his duty to fulfill. Even as the series progresses and it is revealed that he is a titan shifter, the audience feels compelled to support his goals. Why? That’s because everything is only ever shown from his narrative; everything is about what he suffered, what he feels, and what he believes in. Despite the existence of other characters in the Scouting Legion, Eren is quintessentially a puppet master, controlling the audience’s perception of the story.</p><p>Which leads to a main priniciple of the story: is Eren a bad person?</p><p>Eren’s character takes a dark turn in season four. His whole demeanour changes. He easily manipulates a young boy, Falco, into trusting and taking a liking to him. He forges an attack on Liberio, killing innocents without showing much remorse. We see Mikasa question his morals, asking him “do you realise what you’ve done?”, and this is a key moment in the season; it proves how Eren becomes a stranger to his friends. A moment transpires between him and Armin where it’s evident that Armin realises that Eren is beyond redemption. Eren is no longer the emotional, aggressive person he was, he’s surer of himself, more decisive and, in a sense, less humane.</p><p>But is Eren worth supporting? Many fans begin to question their loyalty for Eren. When his own town was demolished, our sympathy for Eren was produced because he was an innocent child, not yet well acquittanced with the world but suffering because of the harshness of it so, how could we sympathise with the same man who then went on to murder innocent children too? Doesn’t that make us hypocrites?</p><p>The answer is yes. And simultaneously, no.</p><p>Eren’s actions were not meant to be justified. This is clear when Jean mentions that it was Eren’s fault that Sasha was killed. Of course, Gabi pulled the trigger so how was Eren responsible? Well, it is simply because Eren is the most important person in both our narrative, and his. Time and time again, the scouts risked lives to save Eren because he was such a vital pawn. We see that his friends lose faith in him; Connie questions his choices and even Mikasa and Armin lose the connection they had with him. Jean serves as a vessel for the creator, Isayama, to remind the audience that everything happening right now is a result of Eren’s actions. Gabi only killed Sasha because he did the same to her friends. Jean simply reminds us that Eren, once vengeful and volatile, blamed Titans for his misfortune, the same way Gabi blames the “devils of Paradis” for hers, so Gabi cannot be fully responsible. Eren dealt the cards and Gabi simply played the hand.</p><p>Eren causes a split between the fans; half support him and half don’t – or cant. Those who still support him do so because they still only see thing from his perspective. Some of them grew to love the Scouts and feel involved as that was what they were accustomed to for 3 whole seasons. For Eren’s supporters, not remaining loyal to him is mutually inclusive to not siding with the Scouts. But, there are no sides. It’s not Scouts vs Warriors, or Marley vs Eldia, it’s freedom vs humanity. The scouts don’t entirely support Eren, they just don’t have any other options. His friends show disdain towards his actions yet they can’t give up on him after risking so much to save him in the past. The audience manifests themselves as part of this belief: I can’t give up on him when I’ve been with him for so long. So, I believe that there is a distinction between those who support Eren, and those who support the Scouts.</p><p>This is exemplified through the introduction of the Jaegerists: a faction of supporters who show blind loyalty to Eren. Their principle is that Eren is the saviour of Eldia, and that everything he does is justified. Again, I interpret this as the author predicting that certain members of the audience would project their views onto the Jaegerists, siding with them. But the Jaegerist mentality directly juxtaposes that of the Scouts supporters. Those who support the Scouts subconsciously support Eren because he is what keeps everything connected, without Eren there wouldn’t be a Mikasa or Armin as mentioned by Eren Kruger to Grisha; Eren’s destiny connects everyone’s. Those who love the Scouts feels connected to the family dynamic they had, this intense bond and journey they shared which wasn’t as prevalent as with the Warriors where there was less structure and intimacy. But people who support the Scouts inevitably cannot defend Eren when his actions affect the other characters, resulting in Sasha’s death and a bridge between everyone. He also almost puts Mikasa and Armin at harm when the Jaegerists blow up the building, and he physically intimidates Hange. If Eren is causing harm to those around him, how can he stand for justice anymore?</p><p>But, truthfully, Eren himself can’t agree with his choices either, but that doesn't change his need to do what he does. We see a tense scene between him and Reiner where he tells Reiner that he now understands him and can forgive him for the previous attack on Paradis. The old Eren who swore to destroy those who took away his security and threatened his loved ones could never fathom ever forgiving his enemy. But the new Eren shows incredible empathy in this scene. He realises that Reiner, like him, was just doing what he had to do to survive and protect his own family. He even tells him how they are “exactly the same”. Eren could easily have killed Reiner right there and then, and Reiner does not show much will to live, suffering with the weight of his guilt. But he instead chooses to forgive him. But is it really forgiveness? Reiner begs him to kill him and believes that he is to blame for everything so Eren rightfully should kill him; Eren however does not. Even during the fight between their Titans, Eren doesn’t kill him because he realises that it’s pointless. Reiner was simply following his higherups and was indoctrinated to believe that the Paradis devils were the enemy. Similarly, Eren saw the Titans as the root source of all his problems. Both failed to see the bigger picture: humanity is beyond repair. Eren understands that unless he eliminates the threat as a whole, this cycle of hatred would continue. Killing Reiner would not be satisfactory as it won’t fix the rest of the world and Paradis would still be under attack. Eren mentions that he “was born like this” which ties into the recurring theme of fate.</p><p>Furthermore, it is notable that Eren informs Reiner that he understands that he was just trying to “fix the world” and be a saviour too, whilst also comparing himself to Reiner. Eren forgives Reiner as he knows that what he’s about to do in the next few minutes is exactly the same as what Reiner did. Eren feels as if this is his duty to <em>fix</em> the world and its what he “needs to do”. He doesn’t have control over it but, whereas Reiner was being instructed by the Marleyan army, Eren is being guided by his predetermined fate. Previously in the series, Eren was able to catch a glimpse of the future upon touching Historia Reiss’ hand and he was clearly disturbed by what he saw and appalled as he knew what he’d have to do to achieve freedom. Now, Eren realises that killing Reiner would never change the past and subsequently, not initiating the raid on Liberio wouldn’t change the future. He has no choice but to do all this if he wants to be free of the prospect of threat.</p><p>So, this leads to the ultimate question: does the concept of bad and good truly exist, and is morality subjective?</p><p>Simply put, yes, morality is subjective. So, Eren is essentially not a bad person. In fact, Eren has never been a “good” or “bad” guy. Eren has remained consistent, even if its less obvious now. Initially, Eren’s primary goal was to eradicate the threat to his freedom which – at the time – were the titans. Eren’s desire was to protect his friends and he even mentions how he is reluctant to pass on his titan to any of them because they deserve to live longer and have a better life than that. Currently, Eren’s goal is still to eradicate any threat. That threat just so happens to be everything outside of the walls. Eren did not change, the circumstances changed. He was never the type of protagonist who did things for a ‘greater good’, wanting to help everyone unlike characters such as Midoriya from My Hero Academia. Eren’s goals were personal. He never projected an image of being kind, virtuous or self-sacrificial. Eren wanted freedom, but not for himself only. He wanted freedom and peace for Mikasa, Armin and, later, his fellow comrades. This is an aspect of his personality that is undoubtedly selfless. Even if his friends cannot understand his actions, he doesn’t bother trying to justify himself as he knows it better to be perceived as a villain than try and seem like a “good guy” when he doesn’t see himself as one; Eren knows that he’s causing mass destruction, but he will do whatever it takes to protect his loved ones. Which is why he was against Zeke’s plan and objected putting Historia in a vulnerable situation when she is told to inherit the Beast Titan. He cannot stand to see her freedom being threatened; he is tired of having his loved ones have to sacrifice their happiness and freedom to be safe. He wants to end all of this, so they don’t have to fight anymore. Similarly, Gabi is a foil of Eren and his younger self, adopting that same vigour to prove herself and protect her family, vowing to eliminate any threat. Moreover, so is Reiner. Reiner and Eren are “exactly the same”. Every single one of them is a victim and a product of their environment. Reiner was objectively seen as the antagonist earlier on, but it is made explicit that he’s not a bad guy either. Neither is Gabi, which is why its hypocritical for her to receive so much backlash as she’s not the villain of the story.</p><p> The true villain is war and humanity’s habit of creating prejudice and a cycle of hate. The antagonist is this environment of violence and divide that we create, hyper fixating on the past instead of working to construct a more equal future. Pinpointing the blame on one or two people changes nothing. Humanity, wholly, can stimulate change. We all have the potential to do bad or good, everything just relies on how power is distributed. In this case, Eren has this superhuman power to cause mass destruction and Marley has an abundance of military support and the support of every other nation in the world. Both sides have incredible amounts of power but how is one side to win if the losses pile up? At the end of the day, the innocents suffer, the children who have yet to understand the cruelty of our world. But in this narrative, children like Eren, Reiner, or Gabi were shoved into this brutal chaos of war and tragedy. They simply respond to their surroundings as they see fit, seeking survival. But their actions are not justified as everything inevitably results in more loss. Eren does what he has to in order to be free and protect his friends but it’s at the cost of peace. The world can never be at peace so long as war is involved. Both sides have innocents so why do those innocents have to suffer as well?</p><p>Therefore, Eren himself cannot be evil. He simply isn't. This is his destiny. But his actions cannot be justified which is Isayama’s overall message: war is the ultimate enemy. Since Eren’s action do add fuel to a fire (despite being in retaliation), his war crimes cannot be rationalised. Those type of actions can’t be extenuated in the narrative of our reality, so why excuse them in a fictional narrative that’s supposed to imitate the consequences that occur in real life?</p><p>Concludingly, I determine that Eren is not a bad person. What he is, is one of the most well written morally grey characters to ever be portrayed in modern media. I would go even further and suggest that no one in the Attack on Titan universe is bad. And even in this universe, we aren’t born evil or righteous; it is our actions that determine character. We have the choice to do bad things that can be understood depending on the reasoning, but we are not born evil. So, in essence, don’t we all hold the power to be “villains” if our environments were different, and isn’t every “villain” a different type of “evil” but being pushed under the same category. Therefore, morality is indeed subjective and determined by the extents of our own individual and societal moral compass. And lastly, Eren Jaeger displays characteristics of both a villain and a hero but shatters the line distinguishing the two, suggesting that our small individual acts of evil or righteousness pale in comparison to the macrocosm of all corruption: <strong><em>war</em></strong>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>comment other points if u want, i like reading abt diff perspectives :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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